


like twinkling lights and the warmth of your hand

by earlgrey_milktea



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, Slice of Life, Snow, it's a date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 21:50:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13327071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgrey_milktea/pseuds/earlgrey_milktea
Summary: mattsun and makki go on an impromptu date.





	like twinkling lights and the warmth of your hand

**Author's Note:**

> i missed these two so here is....... something
> 
> also, the snow melted as i was writing this so i procrastinated bc the mood was gone, gdi weather, pls keep up with my fic writing schedules

Matsukawa is already waiting outside the Hanamaki residence gate by the time Takahiro manages to stagger out of his sister’s clutches and out the front door. He readjusts the hat on his head, and trudges through the two centimetres of snow towards his friend.

“If you took another second getting out here,” Matsukawa greets him, “I’d have turned into a popsicle.”

“A Mattsun-sicle,” Takahiro says before he can think it through, and they both make a face at how awful that was. He shoves his gloved hands into the pockets of his winter coat. “Sorry. Ayame wanted me to pinky promise and swear on her collection of signed idol posters that I would bring sweets when I come home.”

“An important request, I see.”

“Utmost importance.”

They walk towards the train station side by side. Snow is still falling, and the streets are quiet. Their boots leave two separate tracks of footprints in the blanket of white. Takahiro can feel his face going numb and red. He ducks his face into his scarf and walks a little closer to Matsukawa.

The trains are surprisingly empty. Matsukawa claims the centre seat, long legs sprawled out before him. Takahiro slumps down next to him, hands still in his pockets. He leans into his friend and closes his eyes.

“Oi, don’t fall asleep,” Matsukawa says.

“‘M not,” Takahiro mumbles back.

Matsukawa knocks his head gently against Takahiro’s head. “Are you leeching off my warmth?”

“Darn, you caught me.”

They ride two more stops in comfortable silence before Matsukawa’s phone jingles. Takahiro shifts slightly to let Matsukawa reach his phone. He raises an eyebrow when Matsukawa huffs quietly.

“It’s Oikawa,” says Matsukawa, “apparently he got sick and gave his cold to Iwaizumi, too.”

“Not Iwa-chan!”

“Turns out our invincible vice-captain is human after all.”

“Wait, does this mean we got stood up?”

“It appears so.” Matsukawa glances at him sideways. “What do you wanna do now?”

Takahiro frowns. “We already came all the way here.”

“True,” says Matsukawa. “What do you want to do first? Food or shopping?”

“Mm. Window shopping, you mean. ‘Cause we’re poor, poor teenagers in a crumbling economy ruled by the cruel hands of capitalism.”

“Whoa, there,” Matsukawa says, laughing, “bitter much?”

Takahiro grinds his head against Matsukawa’s shoulder. “Treat me to cream puffs, Mattsun-kun.”

A familiar hand reaches up to pat his head. “Yeah, yeah.”

The shopping plaza is just starting to be bustling when they exit the train station. There’s less snow on the ground here though everyone is still bundled up in several layers, scarves and hats hiding most of their face. The Christmas lights are still up, shining bright already even though it’s only early afternoon. 

“Where to, Hanamaki-san?” Matsukawa asks.

Takahiro puts on a thinking face, and then points in a general direction. “Let us go forth!”

The store he’s pointing at turns out to be the sports store. Fate, he decides. Matsukawa isn’t so sure, but in minutes they’re browsing through the shoe selection in earnest. Takahiro really doesn’t have the money for another pair, but a boy can dream.

“Oi, ‘Hiro,” Matsukawa says, and Takahiro turns to find him holding up a pair of banana-patterned swim trunks. He’s wearing his own brand of a shit-eating grin.

Takahiro shoves him, but he’s laughing, too.

They find themselves in a clothing store next, giggling like grade schoolers as they compete to point out the weirdest pieces of clothing. Takahiro finds a hat decorated with an abundance of feathers and puts it on, chasing Matsukawa around while taking in his broken english. There’s a rack of ridiculously long overcoats that are big even on Matsukawa, so naturally they send about thirty-three selfies in front of the mirror to the team group chat. The first laughing-face sticker reactions are just rolling in when they’re finally politely yet firmly kicked out of the store.

“Well, that was fun,” Matsukawa says.

“Oikawa and Iwaizumi are missing out. Prime tomfoolery right here. Shenanigans galore.”

“Where are you getting all these words?”

“Hey, I’m smart. Also, someone left a dictionary in the clubroom and you take a long time in the shower.”

“Do not.”

“Do, too.”

Before their bickering can escalate, they’re interrupted by a couple girls asking for help with a group photo. They stare up at Matsukawa’s sheer height, and Takahiro can tell when rosy cheeks have nothing to do with the cold. He leaves his friend to it, slipping away to the taiyaki stand nearby. He wanders back next to Matsukawa as the girls leave.

“Where did you go?”

Takahiro gestures to the warm cake in his hand. “Want some?”

“Red bean?”

“Yeah.”

Matsukawa leans down slightly and Takahiro lifts the taiyaki until it bumps into his friend’s mouth. They stroll through the strip mall, alternating bites until the cake is gone. Rainbow lights twinkle at them from every direction. There are still sales on chocolates even though Christmas has come and gone. Takahiro isn’t complaining, even if the boxes are all heart-shaped. He buys a couple boxes for his sister, and a few more for himself. He picks up a peppermint-flavoured box.

“Hey, Issei.”

“Mm?”

“You like these, right?”

Matsukawa sticks his face over Takahiro’s shoulder. “Yeah, I do. Why, you going to get them for me? Aw, honey, you shouldn’t have.”

Takahiro puts the box back. “Never mind.”

“No, wait, please get them for me. I’ve been a good boy.”

“Gross, don’t call yourself that.”

Grinning widely, Matsukawa rests his elbow on Takahiro’s shoulder. “You know you love me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Takahiro says. He sticks the chocolate in the basket and ducks out from under Matsukawa, leaving the other boy to wobble off-balance. Serves him right. He’s not even that much taller than Takahiro. He just has stupidly long legs, and his stupidly good fashion sense makes him look that much taller and stupidly handsome. Stupid Matsukawa.

“Where to next?” Matsukawa asks when they end up under the blinking lights again.

“Hmm.” Takahiro knocks their elbows together. “Hungry?”

“Sure.”

“Let’s get out of the cold.”

There’s a cafe next to the station, one with the best hot cakes that Takahiro has ever tasted, he swears. It doesn’t hurt that they have quite a range of selection for their profiterole flavours. It’s quite busy when they enter, but Matsukawa manages to charm the hostess into giving them the booth in the corner. Takahiro immediately zeroes in on the menu.

“Hey, Issei,” he says. “Treat me to some cream puffs.”

“I literally bought a box for you last week.”

“That was last week. Besides, I won that bet on who could balance more things on a Kunimi passed out in the clubroom.”

Matsukawa sighs. “I’m still sad we didn’t manage to get a picture before he woke up. It was a masterpiece we’ll never be able to recreate.”

Takahiro nods solemnly. “As truly only the greatest legends usually are.”

“Fine, I’ll treat you, since you got me chocolate. But you only get two.”

“Yay~!”

They both shut up when their food comes, each whipping out their respective phones. Takahiro smirks at the emoticon spam that Oikawa sends him in response to his heavily-filtered and sticker-decorated photo of his hot cakes. Revenge for when Oikawa and Iwaizumi ditched the rest of them to go for sushi by themselves. It was decent sushi, too, and Oikawa had specifically ordered sashimi just to show off. He doesn’t even like sashimi.

He looks up from his phone to make a joke or a comment or something, but he forgets all about it when he looks at Matsukawa. He’s carefully drizzling strawberry syrup over his crepe, arranging the blueberries around the whipped cream for a perfect, Instagram-worthy picture. The string lights outside and the warm lighting of the cafe frames him with a warm glow. His long legs are tangled with Takahiro’s own legs under the table. A loose lock of his hair falls over his forehead in a very distracting manner. His hair’s getting long again. Takahiro’s fingers twitch towards the other boy before his mind catches up.

He opens his mouth to say something, and then closes it. Takahiro watches the way Matsukawa’s eyes squint slightly as he fiddles with the filters on the app, and hides a smile into his hot cakes.

It’s later, when they’re full and warm and back on the streets, snow falling around them again, that he finally breaks the comfortable silence that’s settled between them.

“Hey, Issei,” Takahiro says.

“Hmm?”

“Are we on a date?”

Matsukawa pauses, considering this. “Are we?”

Takahiro thinks about it. Then he holds out a hand.

Without missing a beat, Matsukawa takes it.

“Huh,” Takahiro says.

“Okay?”

Takahiro hums. He swings their joined hands a little bit. He still can’t feel his nose but he thinks there’s something warm rushing through him anyway, starting from his chest.

“This is nice,” he says.

“Nice,” says Matsukawa. He’s grinning under his scarf, Takahiro can tell. 

Neither of them lets go.

Their walk home is filled with mindless chatter and bad jokes as usual, a soft blur of snow following them as they walk together slowly, hand in hand. Takahiro pretends the slight flush to his cheeks is from the cold, but Matsukawa doesn’t say anything. He just squeezes Takahiro’s hand, and smiles.

Takahiro smiles back.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> the "are we on a date? huh guess we are" scene came to me while i was stuck in an empty store at work one day so i sat down and started this because matsuhana is always a good treat
> 
> hopeless romantic?? it's 2018, only ambiguous romance pls
> 
> @puddingcatbae on tumblr/twitter


End file.
